Alleged killer Binh Thai Luc pleads not guilty to murder

Binh Thai Luc is accused of killing five people found dead inside a home on Howth St. in San Francisco.

San Francisco Police Dept./CBS San Francisco

(CBS/AP) SAN FRANCISCO - Binh Thai Luc, the suspect in the gruesome slayings of five people inside a San Francisco home, pleaded not guilty to murder charges Thursday.

Luc, 35, entered his plea in San Francisco Superior Court to five counts of murder, plus special circumstances of committing multiple murders, robbery, burglary and lying in wait. Luc faces the death penalty if convicted.

Luc's attorney, Mark Goldrosen, said his client was a construction worker and a member of a plumber's union before his arrest.

Judge Samuel Feng reluctantly set bail at $25 million after initially ordering Luc held without the possibility of bail.

In order to hold Luc without bail, prosecutors would have to disclose enough evidence to convince the judge that Luc likely committed the murders. Prosecutor Sharon Woo said she was unwilling to do that because the investigation was still in the early stages.

"I'm still not comfortable," the judge said in ordering the $25 million bail. Federal immigration authorities also placed a "hold" on Luc because he faces deportation if convicted. He would be placed in federal custody in the event he posts bail.

Goldrosen said Luc, who was born in Vietnam, was a legal U.S. resident before his arrest. Goldrosen took over the case after another judge barred the public defender's office from representing Luc. Judge Lucy Kelly McCabe said the public defender's office had a conflict because it previously represented Luc's brother in an unrelated case. Prosecutors also say Luc's brother Brian Luc may be a witness in the murder case.

Prosecutors and police have released little information about the case, including any discussion about the murder weapon. Luc is charged only with using a "blunt instrument" to kill Yuan Ji "Vincent" Lei, 32; Lei's parents, Hua Shun Lei, 65, and Wan Yi Xi, 62; sister Ying Xue Lei, 37; and his girlfriend Chia Huei Chu, 30. The bodies were found on March 23 by a relative at the family's home in the city's residential Ingleside District.

Authorities have not discussed a possible motive but said they believe the victims were targeted.